Process of making acetic acid.



No Drawing.

nary degr HAROLD HIIBBER'I', OF PITTSIB'O'RGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR '10 UNION CARBIDE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

PROCESS-0F MAKING AGETIG Acrn.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD HIIBBERT, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Pittsburgh, in the-county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Acetic Acid, of which the following is a specification.

Acetic acid has heretofore been made by oxidation of acetaldehyde through the agency of oxygen. Various reacting con- "ditions have been proposed, but so far as I am aware the reaction has in all-cases been incomplete and relatively slow. For example it has been proposed to lead acetaldehyde and oxygen, in the'required proportions, through towers filled with.,inert materials such as glass, pottery, etc., these inert materials being with advantage preliminarily saturated with glacial acetic acid. Under such conditions the reaction is rather sluggish and there is some liability to explosion. I

I have discovered that wood charcoal promotes this specific reaction to an extraordiee. Animal charcoal does'not produce a like eflect. v

I prefer to proceed as follows: Wood charcoal in the form of lumps or fragments is charged into a jacketed iron tower The charcoal may be initially soaked in glacial acetic acid, or this treatment may be omitted, in which Specification of Letters Patent.

aving Patented June 26, 191%.

Application filed August 15, 1 916. Serial No. 115,062.

necessary in order to maintain the o timum temperature, which is about 45 The acetic acid is continually drawn oif from the lower portion-of the tower. By proceeding 45- in this way I have been able to secure an oxidation-efliciency well in excess of 90. per

cent, the concentration of the acetic acid produced being 70 per cent. and upward.

I claim 50 1. Process of making acetic acid which.

consists in efi'ecting a reaction between acetaldehyde and oxygen in the presence of-wood 3 charcoal.

2. Process of making acetic acid which" 1155';

consists in effecting a reaction between acetaldehyde and oxygen in the presence of wood charcoal preliminarily saturated with 'strong acetic acid.

in presence of two witnesses. .1 I

I HAnoLnHiinBERT. l Witnesses:

MARTHA W. KmxnR, A. C. SEYLER.

In. testimony whereof-I alfix m ysignature Oxy- A strong heat development occurs, so that cooling is usually 

